You are currently viewing LQ as a guest. By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics, receive our newsletter, use the advanced search, subscribe to threads and access many other special features. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today!

Note that registered members see fewer ads, and ContentLink is completely disabled once you log in.

If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact us. If you need to reset your password, click here.

Having a problem logging in? Please visit this page to clear all LQ-related cookies.

Introduction to Linux - A Hands on Guide

This guide was created as an overview of the Linux Operating System, geared toward new users as an exploration tour and getting started guide, with exercises at the end of each chapter.
For more advanced trainees it can be a desktop reference, and a collection of the base knowledge needed to proceed with system and network administration. This book contains many real life examples derived from the author's experience as a Linux system and network administrator, trainer and consultant. They hope these examples will help you to get a better understanding of the Linux system and that you feel encouraged to try out things on your own.

I have been a linux user for about 3 years now but i havnt really strayed far from ubuntu or ubuntu based distros. I realized that i was bored of it and it wasnt helping me learn anything. I decided to install slackware 13.1 so i can learn linux

After burning the dvd and booting i set up my partition table and ran setup

What happened next was it prompted me to pick what i want to use my partitions for. I went through that then it asked me which version i wanted to install i seleced full

It began to install the packages and then my computer shut down

I tried two more times it did the same thing

I then tried the install where it prompts you for each package it stil shut down

I tried tapping a key to see if it was because my laptop was going into sleep mode no luck

Sorry for hte long post but id appreciate it very much if someone could help me out i was looking forward to using slackware alot

You know it's not a power, or heat issue? I take it you're suspicious of the software, and that you checked your download, cleaned the dvd, etc.
In the Slackware directory on the dvd there's subdirs a/, ap/, etc. Check in /var/log/packages to see what it did install, and /root/install.log or upgrade.log to see if you can narrow down what's going on. I would check the md5 of your download, and burn a fresh dvd at a slower pace.

apparently it was a heat issue i put a fan next to my laptop and evelvated it so it could get air and the install finished. I booted and something prompting me for a darkstar login wtf is that??? when i type root as the user and then my root password i get some wierd msg does anyone know whats going on???

darkstar is the default name of a fresh install. You can change it. Just login with the password you installed with. When you login, you will get a cute zippy message. There's a login profile in /etc which does it. Edit and comment that part out to make it not do it. It's just classic UNIX stuff to do things like that (I used to have it draw a picture of the moon in it's correct phase ... and that might still be available).

I've had a similar issue with my Toshiba laptop, and believe it is also heat related. It crashes when I try to install either Slackware 13 or 13.1, or Zenwalk 6.2 or 6.4. It will make it through all the choices and begin the install, only to shutdown within a few minutes. I don't have this problem with Ubuntu 10.04.

I have the laptop set on an elevated fan/cooling pad, which does help keep it cool; but I was wondering if there were any boot options I could add before I start the install that might help with this? or do I just need to get a big bag of ice and some beer?

You may wish to install only the a/ series of packages first (assuming your laptop can make it through them) and reboot into your new install and enable the ondemand governor so your CPU will not overheat. Then install the remaining packages. If you can't get through the a/ series then I think you're stuck unless you want to jump through hoops. I really wish Pat would add the necessary modules to the installation kernel...

That's what I think is the problem - I'm missing the appropriate modules to complete the install on Slack based kernels.

I need to finish up a few downloads, but will try what you suggested, the a/ series and go from there. I've got Ubuntu running now, but would much rather have Slackware and I can't go back and restore Vista. My other option is to use the high octane fan from upstairs or the air conditioner.

You guys with heat issues installing slack: That's dangerous, as a rule, and gives unwelcome heat cycling (expanding & shrinking effects) on components. It can lead to dry joints.

There should be fans running internally. My laptop has trigger points at 40, 55, 65, & 75 degrees for fan speed. If I go over 40 (Almost immediately) the fan goes on, faster at 55, etc until it's roaring at 75. In needs an airflow in, and an airflow out. Make it so, and the problems should vanish. If not, note is the fan running, and approximately how fast.

You guys with heat issues installing slack: That's dangerous, as a rule, and gives unwelcome heat cycling (expanding & shrinking effects) on components. It can lead to dry joints.

There should be fans running internally. My laptop has trigger points at 40, 55, 65, & 75 degrees for fan speed. If I go over 40 (Almost immediately) the fan goes on, faster at 55, etc until it's roaring at 75. In needs an airflow in, and an airflow out. Make it so, and the problems should vanish. If not, note is the fan running, and approximately how fast.

I recently had an experience with an HP laptop with the fan set (from the BIOS) to spin at full speed (and from the sound it seemed like it was) and it still died a horrible death despite propping up the laptop so the bottom was not touching the desk, with plenty of air flow. Some laptops just aren't meant to run at 100% CPU frequency for any extended period of time. It was only once I used the ondemand governor to control CPU frequency scaling that it wouldn't overheat. This unfortunately is not available on the install CD/DVD. You can blame the manufacturer for the problem but it would be nice if there was a workaround included with Slackware's installation, but there isn't unless I am mistaken.

If you can boot into the system, then you would need to load the proper module (you may have to switch to the generic kernel, but I'm not positive about that) for your CPU. For certain AMD processors, for example, you may need to load the powernow-k8 module (`modprobe powernow-k8`) but it would vary for Intel CPUs (and other AMD CPUs?). The following command would show the possible options:

Code:

cat /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_available_governors

Of course that command will only work if the correct module has been loaded. To load the ondemand governor...

Code:

echo ondemand > /sys/devices/system/cpu/cpu0/cpufreq/scaling_governor

I'm sure there are far better tutorials out there, especially since I am a noob when it comes to Linux on laptops.